The witchcraft beliefs of Chinese folk paper-cut artists
Folk paper-cutting is an art form created by the majority of rural working women based on folk life, and "folk customs first originate from peoples activities to meet their survival needs - material, spiritual, social and psychological , it was originally a cultural model for people to adapt to the natural environment and obtain basic living materials such as food." Therefore, folk paper-cutting itself can not only reflect the artistic emotions and pursuits of the majority of working women, but the witchcraft beliefs and witchcraft sustenance contained in folk paper-cutting also record the psychological state of folk womens survival.
Folk paper-cutting is inseparable from the belief in witchcraft. This kind of utilitarian paper-cutting is a spontaneous choice of working women in order to survive. The principle of yin and yang and the distinction between men and women are prominent features of traditional Chinese culture. Ever since women stepped out of the glory of matrilineal society, they have always played the role of mens vassals, becoming "prisoners for one life and cattle and horses for half their lives." In rural areas, women not only bear heavy housework, but also bear the important task of giving birth and raising children. Therefore, under the traditional moral standard of "there are three types of unfilial piety, the greatest is having no offspring", in order to complete the reproduction of seeds, women put "happy flowers" into the bridal chamber to pray for the continuation of descendants and a full house of descendants, "the lotus will give birth to noble sons", "Golden Toad Tuzi" and "Pomegranate Bengzi" are direct expressions of their witchcraft mentality of praying for life.
In the vast rural areas, "due to the lack of culture, rural parenting methods are not reflected in the cultivation of childrens intelligence, knowledge and psychology, but in the prevention of diseases and disasters, taking care of the body and the care of complex families. on the identity of the relationship.” For this reason, women put protective "scratching bun dolls" and tiger, lion and five poisonous animals on the edge of the kang of their full-month-old children to protect their growth. During festivals, people like to put up some paper-cuts expressing their wishes for good harvests, peace and good luck, and good luck. These witchcraft languages ????with blessings are not used here.The appearance of natural objects is not just a beautification and decoration of the living environment. The main body and connotation of the patterns reflect their prayers for the reproduction of life, the prosperity of humans and animals, and good weather.
Through the above enumeration, we can clearly see that the witchcraft function in folk paper-cutting is actually the process of realizing the survival psychology of the majority of working women paper-cutting artists, and it is their elaboration of their understanding of survival under a special cultural background. For the sake of the reproduction of their family, they cut paper to pray for many offspring; for the quality of their lives, they cut paper to entertain the gods in order to pray for blessings and good fortune; for the safety of their lives, they cut paper to ward off evil and prevent trouble in the bud. Faced with the power of nature, they cut paper to ward off disasters in order to seek good weather; faced with the torment of illness, they cut paper to call upon spirits to seek physical and mental health. Facing the pressure of survival and the difficulties of disaster, they are not helpless, but they entrust the language of witchcraft and blessings in paper-cutting, and use a unique way to "fight against heaven and earth" to obtain psychological comfort under the public consciousness of life. Paper-cutting is the best footnote of this unique approach.
The combined shapes in paper-cut creations are not purely aesthetic forms, but a kind of witchcraft that prays for reproduction, which is an important principle in folk life. Mr. Li Zehou said in "Miles of Beauty": "Lines are not just an appeal to feelings, not just an intuitive representation of fixed objective things, but they can often symbolize the movement form of subjective emotions. Just like the melody of music, the feeling of lines is different. It is just a series of spatial objects, and it is a time process. So, can it be said that the blazing emotions of primitive witchcraft etiquette have been frozen and accumulated in a unique form on the decoration of these lines that seem so ordinary today? "The meaning of witchcraft has a very long history in folk paper-cutting. It has long become a symbol of some extraordinary power. With the emergence and development of paper-cutting art, it has condensed into a solid form with the folk function of paper-cutting, and has accompanied human life. Etiquette from beginning to end records the complete process of folk life and carries the sustenance and hope of human survival consciousness (more recommended reading: The symbolic art of witchcraft paper-cutting in Chinese folk paper-cutting).
